H D - S E N S E I

A view on
Hi-def
discs by Gary W. Tooze

Introduction:
Hello, fellow Beavers! I have been interested in film
since I viewed a Chaplin festival on PBS when I was
around 9 years old. I credit DVD with expanding my
horizons to fill an almost ravenous desire to seek out
new film experiences. I currently own approximately 7500
DVDs and have reviewed over 3000 myself. I appreciate my
discussion Listserv for furthering my film
education and inspiring me to continue running DVDBeaver.
Plus a healthy thanks to those who donate and use our
Amazon links.

Although I never wanted to become one of those guys who
focused 'too much' on image and sound quality - I
find HD is swiftly pushing me in that direction. So be
it, but film will always be my first love and I list my
favorites on the old YMdb site now accessible
HERE.

Product Description: "There comes a time when even Gods must die." - Lex
Luthor

When Lexcorp accidentally unearths the intergalactic serial killer Doomsday,
Superman battles the creature head-on in the fight of his life...literally. The
world collectively mourns its fallen hero; humanity realizes it will never feel
truly safe again. Superman's enemies rejoice - all but Lex Luthor, who grieves
the loss in his own demented manner, setting off a chilling chain of events that
even he couldn't have foreseen.

Inspired by the best-selling graphic novel of all-time, DC Comics' The Death of
Superman, this feature-length animated adventure boasts exciting action
sequences that rival anything you've ever seen starring the Man Of Steel.

The Film:

Superman: Doomsday
is the first in a proposed line of animated films to be
released to DVD which borrows well-known storylines
right from those of the comics, although generally
abbreviated and modified such that they don't rely on
heavy continuity to understand. This film is pretty much
a very pared-down version of the lengthy saga that
appeared in the comics, stripping away many characters,
side plots, and all sense of depth that were explored on
the printed page. Given that 77 minutes is almost a
standard for a STV animated release, it's not like they
could remotely come close to getting it all in and not
be too convoluted to follow.

[...]

I suppose that, given the limitations, this is about the
best retelling that one could reasonably expect in a
one-shot video format. It's a good story, and it works,
though the resonance of the impact of the death of a
beloved icon is thoroughly diminished by the fact that
all of two minutes are given to the anguish before we're
thrown back into seeing the likeness of Superman over
Metropolis again.

Although this was released on DVD on September of 2007,
and will be re-released on SD simultaneous to this

Blu-ray
but I don't own either to compare.
The
thing about digital animation is that it is essentially
flawless - it should have none of the common
deficiencies that we can find when transferring
live-action film to high-definition digital - things
like edge-enhancement or noise removal manipulation.
Haze and blurriness are intentional effects to create
the perception of motion. Out-of-focus sequences are
simply created to make the true focal object more
primary to our vision. By rendering digital animation to
Blu-ray
we should be able to obtain the highest accuracy of the
original, flawless intent. However, although this looks
darn impressive I'll wager that the differences from the
DVD image quality will not be as dramatic as we have
seen from other bumps of SD to hi-def.
While I can find no flaw with the image, excepting
perhaps a few jaggies here and there, it does only take
up 10 Gig of space on the single-layered
Blu-ray.
It still looks impressive - bright colors, commanding
black levels and looks exactly as it was made to look.
The style? Well, personally, I think extraneous
characters, like Lois and Perry, look excellent but the
Man of Steel and his battling enemy don't really do it
for me.
Hopefully, the screen captures below will give you an
idea of what it will look like on your system. Despite
its limited size I doubt anyone will be disappointed.

CLICK EACH BLU-RAY
CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION

Audio & Music:
Only a 5.1
Dolby Digital you say? Yes that's correct - despite
being
Blu-ray
there is no TrueHD, hi-def audio, option and fans may
have a legitimate complaint.
The effects and music do sound solid and at times
compelling and dramatic. Separation is not very dynamic
but has some less demonstrative moments that support the
presentation adequately, if not as stellar as some may
desire. I'd say the mix is rather mediocre for this type
of film. There are optional subtitles
offered in

English, or Portuguese.
We'll assume like all other Warner
Blu-rays
that this too is region free.

Extras:
I'm not a big Superman junkie and prefer the
Marvel Universe but I do find it amusing at how serious
some of the filmmakers take this character. This high
enthusiasm and extensively deep knowledge of Superman
and the DC world are evident in the gang commentary by
producer Bruce Timm, writer Duane Capizzi, voice
director Andrea Romano and executive producer Gregory
Noveck as well as featurettes, of which I enjoyed the 45
minute Requiem and Rebirth: Superman Lives piece.
Best of the extras are the four episodes of 'Superman:
The Animated Series - supposedly hand-picked by Bruce
Timm. They run about 1 1/2 hours and compliment the
feature - especially for those keen on more adventures.
We've seen the 10 minute Wonder Woman Sneak Peek
before and there is a similarly long Justice League
New Frontier Featurette.

Bottom line:
I didn't warm to this particular DC Universe full-length
feature. I honestly don't know whether it's because I am
not a huge fan or it is just not that good. Those keen
though won't be disappointed in this
Blu-ray
that is priced well and only $2 more than the SD version